Arsene Wenger said in the press that Sanchez was jaded both mentally and physically. Maybe he wasn’t throwing shade at the Bournemouth performance, maybe he was throwing… JADE? No?

Anyway, quotes…

‘What is surprising there? You want to see that kind of passion. You don’t come down from 3-0 down from 70 minutes without that passion. We wanted to win the game and we didn’t and we’re all frustrated. Mentally and physically Sánchez is a bit jaded. You could see that he is tired. He can have sometimes emotional reactions but face to face he is always very respectful.’

Wenger is right, you want to see players upset. I’m not on board with him being the only one who cares in the squad, but I am absolutely on board with him being one of the players that cares the most about winning and having that DNA running through his make-up.

“The other players care as much as he does, don’t worry,”

“Everybody has his way. There was no celebration in the dressing room; everybody was disappointed that they didn’t win the game. There is no hierarchy of intensity of desire to win at that level. Everybody wants to win.”

I think with the right manager, that mentality can be beaten into players. You have to have a certain level of give a fuck to make it to the top in any sport, but when the trappings of money and fame land, it must be tough to maintain focus. You don’t really need to answer to anyone and you don’t need to fight for survival.

That’s where the best managers come into play, they make millionaires feel like they’re poor, fighting their way out of poverty again. I’m not sure our players have that hunger, or the fear that they need to perform. Top four mediocrity celebrated, socialist wage structure implemented and total stagnation of ideas and vision from a manager not chained to ambitous targets.

We witnessed the collective weak mentality during the second half of last season when the league was ours to blow. We’ve seen it countless times in seasons past. Just in this latest iteration of Wengerball, we don’t have the fight Adams and his boys had, that was then passed onto the 02 and 04 teams. The winning formula isn’t there. When you had Sol Campbell yelling at Paddy for falling asleep, that’s gone. Where’s the 1997 dressing room inquest after a 1-3 loss at home to Blackburn? We’re not talking about a reaction, we’re talking about whether Sanchez sulked with people. Rather than apologizing to the fans, shouldn’t they be coming up with a plan of attack?

It does worry me that Sanchez is jaded physically and mentally and we’re a week into January. I don’t understand why we need to bury our players before we rest them? A few days off against Preston isn’t going to boost the batteries up to normal levels. If we’d managed his fitness better in November and December, maybe we’d have a fitter, more mentally sharp player who could contribute with even more gusto. Also worth noting that we’re rushing Mustafi back into action, Koscielny has played all the games, Monreal has looked off the pace and Bellerin had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt (another perma starter).

Our injury list is pretty bad at the moment. Per, Ozil, Theo, Gibbs, Cazorla, Coq, Perez, Welbz (unavailable) and Debuchy all out. Lucky we’re having these problems in a relatively easy month before the Chelsea game early Feb.

Wenger made mention of the Ozil and Sanchez contract talks. He seems very confident.

“Alexis Sanchez is a committed player who wants to stay. I’m convinced we’ll find an agreement. It has to be in our potential”

“We are not scared to spend the money and we are not scared to show the players we love them, and we want them to earn big money but we have to have a line of conduct.”

Would LOVE to know what the line of conduct is. What’s the cut off? Well, the AST have an answer of sorts. It’s £97m. We have that sitting in the bank for Sanchez and his new deal, or maybe it’s for Wenger and this summer? Or… whisper it, it’s for Wenger’s successor this summer.

That number is chump change, but you could probably find £90m for Chambo, Ramsey and Wilshere alone. Whoever comes in is no doubt going to tear up the squad… and make some much needed changes to the psyche, £100m with the right manager would be a good figure to work with.

In other news, Arsenal have signed Cohen Bramall from Hednesford Town for a whopping £40k. Wenger says he reminds him of a young Ashley Cole. Certainly has the pace and mobility Cole had, big shout from the scouting crew if he has the talent! Looks a bit like a youtube vlogger to me…

‘I eat ham sandwiches with jam, I’m BONKERS’ said Youtuber Bramall

I’m glad we’re finally making these sort of signings. We spent too many years snobbishly ignoring what homegrown players can offer if given the chance. A sign that coaching is getting much better in the lower reaches of the football league and a sign that our scouting department is starting to mature and branch out of its one league policy of the post 2004 era.

Right, that’s all I have today, enjoy life and know that I’m back in America on Saturday. Time to switch back into a sterile work persona, time to realise banter is not a mitigating circumstance for everything and time to realise the gut I’ve developed over the last 3 weeks is no longer a sign of masculinity… and that in New York, masculinity is a relic of the past and actually I need to cry more and talk about my feelings to strangers because health insurance gives me access to shrinks, xanax and regular prostate checks.

P.S. PLEASE SHARE YOUR ARTY ARSENAL PICTURES WITH ME WHEN I AM AWAY. It makes me happy to see fan pictures and I don’t have to keep reusing my old ones. Will give FULL credit to anyone who sends them.

Celebrate a rare goal, Rambo. Knock yourself out. Savour it. But then think back to the dozens and dozens of wasted chances since the last goal, the go-it-alones where he should play in a team mate, and the feigned surprise that his brilliance falls flat time and again.

Rambo RamseyJanuary 7, 2017 18:49:32
“Rambo Ramsey on to make comments about the Ramsey hate in 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1″I have grown tired of questioning this fixation some posters have re Ramsey. Can’t imagine how they continue the same bashing, every minute of every game he plays.Anyhow that was a superb finish.

Some of you are fixated with bashing other fans, the akbs don’t keep Wenger in his job, it’s Stan and the board. Does my head in when some of you throw around labels. I want Wenger out, but I won’t resort to name calling other fans Akbs, pathetic fans

Oxlade chamberlain’s every move reeks of complacency and comfort zone and his upstartness in a team of donkeys. He is so fucking poor as a footballer, cant even tell he is erratic. He is simply not fit to be anywhere around the pitch.

Goona, that’s a point I’ve kept making on here for a long time. It becomes boring repeatedly pointing out the obvious. Because we do the mannequin challenge around both boxes every game we are easy to close down and easy to get past. So we end up playing frustrating and one dimensional crab football.

Like I said earlier, I always want the win. But playing like this will see us come a cropper against mediocre sides and I dread to think what will happen if Bayern click. Flattering to deceive against the galacticos of Bournemouth and Preston might make Wenger feel like a football genius, but the club is a laughing stock with other Premier League fans.

You seem a nice guy but please do me a favour and please have faith in your convictions. Your 100 % akb so stop making out your not. Yes I’m a WOB 100% and want him out not at the end of the season but right now. One thing that irritates me is AKB’S who come on here and make out they want him out and that they’re WOBS then furiously defend him.

Defensively we were poor, Monreal is a shadow of his former self at LB, Xhaka and Ramsey were poor for most of the game, Oxlade was again ineffectual, Iwobi okay in flashes, Perez decent enough, he really has to start from now on.

I’m happy that we’ve won this game, especially considering that 5 other prems got knocked out today but this win takes nothing away from our dreadful and lethargic performance.
Wenger needs to stand naked in front of the mirror and look at the banter he has become among top flight managers.

TYAGN – you seem a nice guy too, but one thing I hate in all the bs that is Arsenal right now, are some fans always looking to label others. I want Wenger out now, but please ! Don’t label me WOB or whatever! Corny as fuck! And only makes other clubs laugh at you lot

There are a lot of fans out there who want Wenger out but want the team to win regardless……the factions that is akb and wob seem to feel extremely entitled. Guys like Troopz want him out but you see them happy when we win and players play well. Guys like Steve and Thank you want us to lose every freaking game, how miserable is that???

@Dale
Clubs only laugh at us because our fans are so deluded, not because of the WOBS. Look at United under either moyes or van gaal, how long did their fans last before turning on the manager? They weren’t a laughing stock. Yet we’ve had 12 years of shite and under achievement from wenger yet we’re told to tow the party line. Opposing fans laugh because we are delusional thinking we’re one of the big boys. We’re a top 10 team at best now…..the Everton of the south

Wrightisgod fair enough if you think akbs have the power to keep Wenger in the job and not the cunt 60% owner. But that means people who support him are in the majority and any and all abuse and aggression towards them will sway them over, right? Kinda like what happened with Brexit and America politics

Thank you, United has an aggressive ownership. That club is built on success from owners down. They splash the cash regardless. What type of ownership do we have? The type that willl ask Wenger how much he wants in his new contract or who should be his successor. You’re moaning about the wrong detail. Wenger gone and Bob Bradley in and you’re gonna be miserable without Wenger anyway

Ramsey and Giroud both said during the post-match interview that they were surprised by Preston’s commitment during the first half…. a clear example of how they thought they could just walk the ball into the net…. what terrible mentality AW has instilled in the players.

Pure and simple”Wenger out”…
He is so fcking useless he only just gets by on beating really inferior opposition with international players. Once again he has got out of jail. I’m pleased for Ramsey and the players, but tinged with a regret that this vastly overpaid charlatan has escaped the criticism he would have got had he failed here.

If Ramsey were in my Sunday league team, I doubt he’d make a difference. Passing is not top shelf, blind shots, dances around, slows game down, doesn’t make great decision and lacks defensive discipline

Dale whether you want to be or not you’re an AKB. You defend Wenger at almost every chance then attack the WOBs. Time to be honest with yourself mate. And yes, AKB fans like you are absolutely one of the reasons Wenger is still here. Scared of change like little bitches. Enjoy another fourth place trophy, it’s what you lot deserve. The true Arsenal fans deserve So much more.

Thank you, you see it as that, I see the bigger picture. I’m worried who the next manager the cunt board will bring on. And I am worried they’ve tabled a deal for Wenger to continue on…..you’re worried about now. Wenger is done, we know. I just want Kroenke to sell his shares to Usmanov or more ambitious owner who will sack Wenger

That interview with Giroud and Ramsey just sums it all up for me.
“They surprised us with their level of commitment”
Surprised?! Fucking what?
No fucking wonder we see these appalling starts in games, what the fuck is going on behind the scenes?

Thank fuck we managed to turn it around, Perez has more quality than the ox and is delivering now which the ox has never done. Giroud in those situations really is a handful but we look so static going forward with him leading the line.

Thank You…..look at the cunt kc for example….rabid dog barking all around looking for a fight. When you have idiots like that who just hang around looking for akbs to fight, why won’t Chelsea, united fans laugh? Weak ass manager, weak ass ownership and most of all the most disfunctional disgrace of a fandom

The start of that match was like Bournemouth all over again, the second a team uses high tempo pressing tactics against us it is literally like our players catch on fire, go into panic mode and forget they are playing football.

Other teams are laughing at us because we can’t compete at the highest level, not because our fans are labeling other fans. What a stupid thing to say. Wenger has made us a joke. Deflecting the truth won’t help this club.

Ramsey and Giroud both said during the post-match interview that they were surprised by Preston’s commitment during the first half…. a clear example of how they thought they could just walk the ball into the net…. what terrible mentality AW has instilled in the players.
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Arsenal don’t investigate the opposition and brief the players about what to expect. They just go out and play the tippy tappy stuff because Wenger believes his football philosophy will win out.

The first half performance was dismal, truly dire. We robbed PNE of that result. It should have been over by half-time, but we got away with it.

We’ll get smashed by Bayern and Chelsea in February if we don’t get a grip.

I don’t know if you ever go Emirates but the majority of fans are afraid to sing let alone sing against Arsene Wenger. If you do sing against Arsene you’re likely to be kicked out or beaten up. It’s absolutely 50/50 (though I would say quietly 70/30 out but in the stadium it feels like 70/30 in).

There are fans so obsessed with Wenger it does not allow us as a fanbase the chance to hound him out. If the majority of fans actually nailed their colours to the mast and said we are WOB lets sing to get him out, he wouldn’t last a month. He’s have to say he was resigning.

We’ve seen it at a lot of clubs so don’t act like fan power can’t make it happen. It’s the lassaiz-faire tourists, oldies and AKBs keeping Wenger around.

I feel you mate. Don’t get why folks want the team they support to lose!? As in what!? They think Arsene will resign or be sacked the next day!?

Laughing stock of the league!? My God do we Arsenal fans feel so fucking priviedged… Memo to you all… Other Prem Leagues fans couldn’t really give a toss how we feel as fans.. Ask West Ham fans if they give a shyte about our worries? Or Everton fans? Fans from Citeh, United, Spurs, Chelsea and Pool only laugh at us because we fucking laugh at ourselves and give each other funny labels like “Akbs” and “Wobs” besides that they couldn’t really give a flying fcuk how we feel until they play us.

Was Highbury always never called the “Library” (now the same atmostsphere is at the Emirates) Is that Arsene’s fault as well.

Focus on the game, we played shyte and came through in the end (as happens with cup games) Nothingelse to see here. Everything doesn’t need to be of CNN/Sky News dooms day proportions all the time we play a game, you would think pre-1996 we always strolled cup games the way most of you are going. I have been priviledged to have watched some fucking boring Arsenal cup games under GG and before AW and i have witnessed some shyte games under both managers so what gives?

Critique the game and players and leave it as that. The Akbs and Wobs labelling isn’t really called for all the time.

My weekend will be ok, not because Wenger won. But because regardless of who the manager is, Arsenal won a game. I know I’d be miserable if we lost that or drew. Don’t care what the label is for that. But carry on with the bs fellas!

Not a big fan of Metersacker but if I had to choose between him and Gabriel, I would choose the former. Gabriel needs to be sold – he’s TV5 without the goals. Makes everyone around him look bad.

Good to see Perez getting a few goals/assists and some recognition. Was always impressed by his technical ability and understanding of the game but now he’s consistently putting in good performances. Welbeck-Alexis-Perez would a good front three.